Briefing on geriatric disease prevention publicity activities

[Core Conclusion] Yuxin Community, Chaoyang Road Subdistrict, jointly with the community health service center and the district Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital launched a geriatric disease prevention themed publicity activity on September 12, 2024, covering a total of 217 resident elderly people over 60 years old, and 192 basic health screenings were completed on-site. , screened out 32 people at high risk of hypertension, 18 people with prediabetes, and 47 people at risk of bone and joint degeneration. Among the 189 elderly people participating in the survey, 87% could accurately name more than three key points for daily prevention of geriatric diseases, which was a significant increase from 22% before the activity.

As the lead organizer of the community health service center, I had just placed the blood pressure monitor and height and weight scale under the awning of the small community square that day, when I saw Aunt Zhang Guilan, who often came to dispense medicines, crowded over with half a bag of tomatoes she had just bought. After taking off her straw hat, she said, "I have been feeling dizzy these past two days. I thought it was because I had trouble sleeping with my grandson at night. You guys came just in time to measure me." The measured high pressure was 152 and the low pressure was 94, but she still didn't care: "There is nothing wrong with old people. Prevention is just a matter of young people, and it's useless." ”This understanding that "you will inevitably get geriatric diseases as you get older" is also the misunderstanding that we most want to change in this event.

This time we did not engage in the usual lecture format of reading PPT on stage and sitting in rows in the audience. We specially invited Wang Jianguo, the chief physician of the center, and Li Min, deputy director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Geriatrics Department of the District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. The two of them sat side by side to answer questions. It just happened that many elderly people were concerned about the controversial issue of "should we trust Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine to prevent geriatric diseases?" We did not favor any side. Let’s explain both ideas to the elderly: Dr. Wang’s point of view is very clear. The core of geriatric diseases is the deterioration of organ function caused by aging. First of all, controllable risk factors must be suppressed - bad habits such as smoking, drinking, high oil and salt, and sedentary life can be changed as soon as possible. Those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes must take medicine as prescribed by the doctor. Do not believe in any "dietary cure" folk prescriptions that will delay the condition.； Dr. Li Min's thinking is more focused on daily conditioning. She believes that for sub-health conditions that have not yet reached clinical diagnosis standards, such as the elderly who occasionally experience dizziness, knee pain, and blood sugar swings at the critical value, there is no need to take medicine in advance. Pay more attention to a warm and cool diet, massage the Hegu Zusanli point, and adjust your work and rest according to the solar terms. You can also push back the onset of the disease by five to ten years. Each of the two options has applicable scenarios. The elderly can choose whichever they are willing to believe and can persist in.

72-year-old Uncle Liu Deshun came over on crutches that day. He has suffered from gout for five or six years. He had heard others say that people with gout should avoid eating meat and fish. He had been on a vegetarian diet for a whole year. This time, his hemoglobin was only 102, indicating mild anemia. Doctor Wang corrected him on the spot: gout is about controlling high purine levels, not a completely vegetarian diet. Milk and eggs are low in purine, so you can eat them. Otherwise, malnutrition will weaken your immunity and easily lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems. Doctor Li also gave him a small recipe of boiling plantain in water, which he drank two or three times a week to help lower uric acid. Uncle Liu took out the small book with a whitened cover and wrote down a full page, saying that he had made a detour in the past half a year, but today he had figured it out.

Of course, there are many things that were not considered carefully in this event. The brochure printed at the beginning used size 5 fonts. Many elderly people with cataracts held it in their hands and couldn't read it for a long time. We temporarily found three college students who came to volunteer and squatted next to them and read them one by one. ； There are also elderly people over 80 years old, most of whom have difficulty moving and have difficulty walking downstairs. This time, less than 10 came. We will arrange for family doctors to come to their homes in the next week to conduct screenings and explain key points to these elderly people. No one will be left behind.

It was almost six o'clock when the event ended that day. When I was packing my things, I heard Aunt Zhang Guilan saying to the old sisters who were dancing with her, "It turns out that you don't deserve to suffer when you are old. From now on, I will put less half a spoonful of salt every day and walk half an hour longer after dinner. Maybe I can wait until my grandson goes to college." When I heard this, I felt that it was really worth spending a day in the sun during this event. There has never been a unified standard answer to the prevention of geriatric diseases. The most useful method is the method that the elderly can understand, do and are willing to adhere to.